Project Status Summer 2020

04 17 AuGust 2020 Project Status Summer 2020 1. A White Book for the responsible use of digital data as a product of a transdisciplinary process Roland W. Scholz (IASS Potsdam and Danube University Krems) and Ortwin Renn (IASS Potsdam) The main product of the first year of the DiDaT reGulation-oriented vulnerability spaces (trust- project is the White Book "Orientations for a re- worthiness of information, digital law). The start- sponsible use of digital data: Results of a transdis- inG point of the DiDaT project was the key messaGe ciplinary process". Based on the DiDaT rouGh plan of a European science roundtable, in which the and the discussions at the second stakeholder con- contested interrelation between ference on January 22, 2020, currently (about) 70 practitioners and 60 scientists are in the process (i) ownership, of completinG the White Book and an additional (ii) economic uses, volume with supplementary materials to the (iii) access, and White Book. (iv) application Newsletter 04: Contents of diGital data was identified as the central cause for neGative (side) effects1. In simple terms, this 1. Introduction: Planning and status quo (p. 1) 2. Political MonitorinG Group (p. 5) can be formulated in such a way that Europe and 3. DeepeninG research & transdisciplinarity labora- Germany will be neGatively affected by too weak a tories (p. 9) participation in the shaping of the diGital transfor- 4. How is DiDaT transdisciplinary? (p. 10) mation. 5. Transdisciplinary consultation process of the DiDaT White Book (p. 11) At the 2nd DiDaT Stakeholder conference in Janu- 6. White Book contents and excerpt (p. 15) ary 2020, each workinG Group of the above-men- Excerpt – preview on some SI tioned vulnerability spaces presented specific un- VR 01, VR 02, VR 03 intended neGative side effects (so-called unseens). VR 05, VR 07 For each of these unseens, sub-groups were formed within the vulnerability spaces, which pro- The seven main chapters of the White Book provided detailed descriptions of the unseens and the vide orientation, Guidance and Guard rails for a reasons for their formation. In order to develop sustainable handlinG of diGital data in the impact- socially robust orientations, they also identified oriented vulnerability spaces (mobility, health, fu- goals that are tailored to different parts of society ture of SMEs and aGriculture), the value-oriented (individuals, orGanizations, the Government, and vulnerability space (social media) and the various stakeholder Groups) in dealinG with these 1 Scholz, R. W., Bartelsman, E. J., Diefenbach, S., Franke, L., table. Sustainability, 10(6), 2001; Grunwald, A., HelbinG, D., ... Viale Pereira, G. (2018). https://doi.org/10.3390/su10062001. Unintended side effects of the diGital transition: European scientists’ messaGes from a proposition-based expert round - 1 - unseens. Furthermore, they developed options various criteria summarized in Box 1. A socially ro- for possible countermeasures to handle the un- bust orientation indicates which measures could seens more effectively. The overall Goal is to de- be taken in the near future by civil society, eco- velop a socially robust orientation that meets the nomic and/or political actors. Box 1 Criteria of socially robust orientations (Scholz, 2011, p. 3782 based on Gibbons & Nowotny, 2001)3 1. The orientations are derived from a process of inteGratinG or relatinG profound experience-based practitioner knowledGe (from representatives of the main stakeholder Groups) and coherent and/or empirically validated scientific knowledGe. 2. They are Generally understandable and have the potential to obtain the consent of a larGe proportion of those who are affected. 3. They are compatible with recoGnised, current (i.e. state-of-the-art) scientific findinGs. 4. They fairly contain not only the uncertainties, but also the limitations and incompleteness for each type of knowledGe employed. 5. They convey in detail throuGh which process they were derived or desiGned and with what effort. The 35 or so descriptions of socially robust orien- individual unseens and what are unintended side- tations for the selected Unseens developed by the effects in a General sense) from the set of devel- groups will be published in an additional volume oped orientations. This can be seen as a "bottom- with supplementary material (supplementary in- up" approach to the core messaGe of the White formation, SI) in a separate book. Book. There will also be a "top-down” approach or access. Each workinG Group was instructed to This supplementary information for a vulnerability specify to what extent the unseens in a vulnerabil- space such as mobility serves as a foundation for ity space can be described by General characteris- the development of a core message on how to han- tics of the existinG diGital infrastructure (techno- dle digital data. This core messaGe also meets the loGical, economic, or other special features) and to criteria of socially robust orientations. The core what extent chanGes have to be made to the de- messaGe is formulated and explained in the sum- siGn conditions and reGulations so that the rele- mary at the end of the White Book. A major chal- vant unseens discussed can be eliminated or at lenGe for the Groups has been to work out the least reduced in the lonG term. "specifics and Generics" (i.e., what is special for 2 Scholz, R. (2011). Environmental Literacy in Science and So- Society: An Effective Way for ManaGinG complexity, ciety: From Knowledge to Decisions. Cambridge: cam- Birkhäuser Basel, pp. 67-80, ISBN 978-3-0348-8419-8, DOI bridge University Press. doi:10.1017/cBO9780511921520 10.1007/978-3-0348-8419-8_7, URL https://doi.orG/10.1007/978-3-0348-8419-8_7 3 Gibbons, M., Nowotny, H. (2001). The Potential of Transdis- ciplinarity, in: Klein, J. T et al. (Eds.), Transdisciplinarity: Joint Problem SolvinG amonG Science, TechnoloGy, and - 2 - Comprehensive quality control supplementary materials with a more detailed de- scription of the selected Unseens and the orienta- The entire process of preparinG the White Book tions for measures based on them are to be sent and the accompanying book on socially robust ori- out to 30-50 persons, orGanisations and institu- entations is subject to extensive quality control. tions in the first week of AuGust. The aim here is to After extensive and sometimes very controversial ask a broad spectrum of experts, affected persons, discussions in the working Groups, all chapters causers and reGulators, who could be affected by were subjected to a preliminary review. The aim the unseens, for written feedback. This feedback here was to examine the extent to which the doc- should be available by 30 September 2020. uments produced meet the requirements and ob- jectives of the project in terms of form and con- After a detailed review and discussion in the work- tent. The preliminary review was followed by a inG Groups/author teams, it is planned to arranGe transdisciplinary review. One scientist, one sus- virtual or, if possible, physical meetinGs with the tainability expert and one practitioner from the stakeholder Groups. The content of these meet- field provided feedback on the Guidelines devel- inGs should be to correct essential missinG, oped in the accompanyinG book. The same proce- wronGly or distortedly portrayed content in order dure is used for the White Book. This ensures that to obtain additions, modifications or corrections science and practice are involved not only in the to the listed orientations. The aim is that the finally process of drafting the White Book, but also in the adopted orientations are considered acceptable process of review and feedback in order to accom- or even desirable by a larGe part of the stakeholder plish hiGh synerGy effects. groups. The written and verbal feedback is then in- corporated into a careful revision of the docu- Delayed production due to the Corona Pandemic ments. The two volumes are to be published in German and EnGlish at the beGinninG of next year. The White Book was oriGinally scheduled for com- The results are of interest not only for Germany. pletion by 23 June 2020 (see FiG. 1). This timetable The DiDaT project was already planned in its early could not be met, partly because of the effects of staGes as a follow-up project to the European Sci- the corona pandemic. The cooperation of a larGe ence Experts Roundtable (see footnote 1). It is ob- number of participants (practitioners and scien- vious that the results of the DiDaT project will be tists) was blocked or severely impaired for several of interest throuGhout Europe, but also worldwide. weeks. We are currently planninG the completion A renowned, internationally operatinG publishinG of the volumes for summer 2020. house has already declared its interest in publish- inG an EnGlish version. Transdisciplinary consultation We are sure that the two volumes will be siGnifi- After completion of the two books, the respective cant milestones in the elaboration of the desired chapters Go into the consultation process. This and undesired consequences of handlinG diGitally participation process, rooted in the Helvetic de- stored data for the scientific discussion and for the mocracy, is explained in more detail in an article in further development of the rules and institutional this newsletter by Scholz & Albrecht (p. 11). The framework. seven chapters of the White Book and the - 3 - Pre Corona - DiDaT time plan, (Dirk Marx, 01.07.2020) Material rough plan, + revision, fine plan with U & O x table Step 1 Responsible: Template for creating the “Supplementary Information” 28.02.2020 Coordination short "SI", the Unseens x Orientation Table Goal: Preparation of the VR contributions (5000 words incl. Tab. & Fig.) of the DiDaT white book Template SI with reference to the socially robust orientations “SROs” as a result of the various collaborative processes (2) Establishment of the working groups (author teams of 2-5 and products, in particular the preparation of Step 2 u.

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